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Tuesday, 1 May 2012

Meet Sarah!

Sarah suffered an ectopic pregnancy recently and has decided to share her story. Thank you so much from the team of Ectopic Pregnancy Ireland!

What type of ectopic pregnancy did you experience?
I experienced an ectopic pregnancy in my right fallopian tube in February 2012. I was 10 weeks pregnant and this was my first pregnancy.

What were your symptoms?
The only symptoms I had was an agonising pain in my lower right back and a pain that I suspected was my appendix. I didn’t want to go to the hospital because I thought I was constipated but after a glass of orange juice I vomited and my mother and Fiancé insisted I go to the hospital (luckily!!).

How was your experience with the Doctor, & how were you treated?
I had taken 4 HPT’s over two months, all were negative, I even had a negative result with my GP a week before I went into hospital. So when I was told in the hospital that I was pregnant I was in shock. I was in so much pain that I could not register it. I was transferred to Drogheda hospital by ambulance, when I got to the hospital I had lots of people around me. The gynaecologist came down and examined me and told me the likelihood of it being an ectopic pregnancy was high. It was my gut feeling that it was and in my heart I knew it was too, I went for a scan and it was confirmed. I went for the operation to have the pregnancy removed, when I came around I was panicking about my fallopian tube, and I kept asking about it. When I eventually came around I was told that my fallopian tube was removed but that the operation was successful, I had keyhole surgery but my left tube was good and my ovaries looked healthy.
My experience with the doctors and nurses was great. One of the nurses even took the time out to sit with me and my fiancé to talk to us about what had happened, explaining both the procedure and the ectopic pregnancy. They all enforced that it was a definite pregnancy and that I needed to accept that and mourn it and try and move on from it.

Can you tell us a bit about your emotions, Family support (if shared) etc..
When it comes to support, I didn’t tell a lot of people but looking back I wish I did. Trying to act normal and hide my tears when I see a new baby or hiding my pain when someone tells me they are pregnant is a lot harder than I thought it was going to be. A lot of people seem to be avoiding me probably because they are afraid of upsetting me. I feel like I can’t talk to a lot of people my mam and my fiancé excluded. I am very fragile at the moment and hate that everyone is just moving on and ignoring/avoiding me because they don’t want to upset me. Sometimes talking about it and having a good cry is what you need.
Although the pregnancy tests where coming back negative, I knew deep down I was pregnant, I had a lot of pregnancy symptoms. We were not trying for a baby or in a great position to have one but with each negative we got we were a little devastated, as the baby would have been loved and wanted. Since the loss of the baby, I have not really pulled myself together properly. I want to just have a magic wand to make it all better but I have to keep reminding myself it’s only been 6 weeks since the loss. I think about my little baby first thing every morning and last thing at night. I keep thinking about how far along I should be and why did this happen to us? I also can’t get over the sense that a part of me is missing.

What has happened since your ectopic pregnancy?
I have just completed my 6 weeks appointment in the hospital. The doctor told me that I was doing great and that I could start trying to get pregnant straight away if I wanted to. He just advised me to arrange a scan if and when I am pregnant again. He said that it was really important that I go in as soon as I find out to ensure that the pregnancy is in the correct place. I had been experiencing pains in my back and stomach and I was told not to worry about these as it can take up to three months for everything to go back to normal. We are not ready to start trying for another baby yet, but we are hopeful for the future.